The present invention concerns a locking member for holding a first element relative to a second element, comprising a head arranged for co-operating with the second element, one end opposite the head, and an intermediate portion that can deform elastically in a longitudinal direction of said member and integral with the head and the opposite end.
More precisely, according to a first aspect, the present invention concerns a pin, the opposite end of which forms a tail, arranged to be disposed in a recess provided in the first element.
Similar devices are known from the prior art in various areas of application, like for example in the horological field.
Indeed, the certificate of addition No. 41 060 to French Patent No. 712 868 granted to René-Alfred Chauvot, discloses the use of pins in a watch whose case is capable of sliding in its support and can turn completely on itself. More precisely, this document discloses two types of slightly different pins fulfilling different functions. “Pivot-pins”, one of which is shown in FIG. 6 of the aforementioned certificate of addition, are arranged in the watchcase and have projecting portions provided for sliding into corresponding grooves of the support. On the other hand, “ball locking members”, illustrated in FIG. 5 of the same document, are also arranged projecting in the case to ensure the holding thereof in the support when it is in its rest positions.
These two devices have similar respective structures as can be seen in the aforecited Figures of the certificate of addition. Each of these devices in fact comprises a cylindrical casing forcibly driven in a cylindrical hole arranged in a first element, here the watchcase. A helical spring is arranged in the cylindrical casing, a first of its ends resting on the bottom of the cylindrical hole, the second end resting against the base of a “pivot-pin” or against a ball. Further, it will be noted that the upper edges of each of the cylindrical casings are bent inwards, so as to allow a part of the pivot-pin or the ball to have a projecting portion with respect to the cylindrical casing, while preventing them from being completely ejected.
The pivot-pin device is typically used in applications requiring the movement of the first element to be guided with respect to a second element, the movement being of the rotational and/or sliding type.
On the other hand, the ball device is typically used as a locking member. Indeed, replacing the pin with a ball facilitates the sliding of a second element along the surface of the first element as regards the locking member. This advantage is obtained particularly owing to the capacity of the ball to turn on itself, which is why this variant is typically implemented in devices for which locking operations are frequent.
However, the general structure that has just been described has a drawback in that it requires a plurality of components, which proves expensive when a significant number of them are manufactured, both in terms of manufacturing said components and the assembly thereof.
According to a second aspect, the present invention concerns a locking member, wherein at least the bar is capable of being housed in a through hole of the first element, the head and the opposite end being respectively arranged to co-operate respectively with a first and a second recess which are arranged in the second element.
More precisely, a member of this type can be implemented, for example, for making a fastening bar for a wristwatch bracelet. German Patent Application No. 31 34 761 discloses a device answering the aforementioned features. Indeed, this document discloses a metal wristwatch bracelet fastening bar made in a single piece. In the variant shown in FIG. 2 of this Patent Application, the central part of the bar has an undulated structure, in other words it has a succession of curves contained in the same plane. Consequently, the central part of the bar has resilient properties, particularly in the direction of its length, which allows its ends to be locked into the housing of the watchcase provided for this purpose. This wristwatch bracelet bar is made particularly using a press.
However, this device has certain drawbacks, such as a compactness that could be improved. Indeed, the resilient properties of the structure described are obtained via a sinuous shape of the bar in one plane, which means that the lateral dimensions of the bar finally obtained are not negligible, particularly within the scope of an application to wristwatch bracelet bars. Further, it will be noted, in FIG. 2 of the aforecited Patent Application, that the ends of the bar are not held in fixed positions with respect to the wristband in which it is positioned. The ends can be moved either via the effect of the bar rotating on itself, or because of a lateral resilient deformation of the bar in the absence of any lateral guiding.